Centre beam railroad car



April 5, 1966 F. TAYLOR 3,244,120

GEN AR Filed Oct. 28, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 5, 1966 F. TAYLOR 3,

CENTRE BEAM RAILROAD CAR Filed Oct. 28, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVENTOR E 7'AyLoR April 5, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 28, 1963 I LHQIIIWH INVENTOR E TAyLoR United States Patent Ofiice 3,244,120 Patented Apr. 5, 1966 3,244,120 CENTRE BEAM RAILROAD CAR Frank Taylor, 273 Eleanor Ave., Otterburn Heights, Quebec, Canada Filed Oct. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 319,610

7 Claims. (Cl. 105-414) This invention relates to railroad freight cars and particularly to improvements on flat cars whereby a large proportion of the stress is transferred from the beam structure below the load carrying platform to a central longitudinal beam located above the load carrying platform and anchored to end bulkheads.

'Ihe railways have always been faced with a problem in the design of railway l reight equipment, such as fiat cars, due to limitations placed upon them by law governing the amount of load a freight car is permitted to carry. This limitation is a direct function of the size of the axle journals upon which the load is carried. For each given size of axle the load allowed is predetermined, which load, of course, includes the Weight of car body structure and the payload. It itollows then that for each pound of weight that the car structure is reduced, with no decrease in strength, the payload may be increased an equal amount. Unfortunately, with llat car conventional design, and taking into consideration the pro lem of height and width clearance limitations imposed on the railway, the only means of increasing structural capacity is by lengthening the car. However, to do so means adding a disproportionate amount of weight to the centre and side sills thereby again increasing the light weight of the car and further decreasing the payload. The design of the railroad fiat car proposed in the present application solves this problem in a unique manner, to wit, the inverted T-shaped design permits a considerable increase in car length with absolutely no increase in car body weight. In this manner the cubic capacity of the car is increased to the extent that a product such as lumber of a density of say 30 lbs. per cubic foot, may be loaded to the extreme weight capacity of the car. For example, a standard design fiat car would weight about 54,000- 55,000 lbs. and with a gross loa'd permissible of 220,000 (by law) could carry 165,000-166,000 lbs. payload. However, if lumber were loaded at its fairly light density, the volumetric capacity of the car would be reached when only 100,000 lbs. were loaded, thereby sacrificing an additional 65,000-66,000 lbs. of potential payload. The proposed car design lengthened to 68'0" long, and weighing the same 54,000-55,000 lbs, could carry the full 165 ,000

I 166,000 lbs. of payload due to its increased volume.

This invention consists essentially in replacing the deep side sills of standard flat cars with shallow side sills which are of uniform depth throughout their length, and greatly reducing the depth and weight of the centre sill in standard fiat cars and compensating for the reduction in depth and weight by building upwards a central longitudinal beam having a height equal to that of a standard box car and anchored at its ends between bulkeads. The central longitudinal beam has a transverse width at the level of the load carrying platform equal to the transverse width of the lightened central sill and has its sides tapered inwards to a reduced transverse width at the top longitudinal edge. The top longitudinal edge of the central longitudinal beam is reinforced by a longitudinal member of greater width than that of the top edge oat the beam and this reinforcing member is also anchored to the end bulkheads of the car. Cross bearers and sleepers on the floor of the car have their top surface angled to form approximately a 90 angle with the vertical walls of the central longitudinal beam.

By installing a central longitudinal beam above the floor level of the car and anchoring the vertical ends of the beam to car end bulkheads, a car of the same overall weight as that of a standard bulkheaded flat car of a type designed to carry lumber can be built to a much greater length and be capable of of carrying a greater load. At the same time the central longitudinal bulk-head extending upwards to the height of a normal box car provides a central divider and support against which loads on either side of the car can be anchored.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a lengthened freight car particularly suitable for the transportation of lumber and packaged freight.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lengthened freight car having a central longitudinal beam projecting upwards above the floor level to provide a support for freight loaded *from both sides of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lengthened freight car of greater load carrying capacity without an increase in dead-weight.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fiat car with a central longitudinal beam located above the floor level of the car in which the central beam has its vertical side surfaces tapered inwardly and upwardly and a series of floor load supporting members are correspondingly angled to. support the load at an angle from the vertical for greater security of the load against displacement outwards of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide bulkheads at'b'oth ends of the car which may be constructed of much lighter design than conventional flat car bulkheads as a result of being firmly anchored to the central beam along'its full height.

- A [further object of the invention is to provide a flat car of increased length in which the sides sills are of uniform shallow depth throughout the length of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flat car with a central longitudinal beam extending upwards [from the floor of the car to the top of which a freight covering, such as a tarpaulin or other suitable means, is anchored.

A further object of the invention is to provide a car with a central longitudinal beam whereby the car can be loaded fully on one side of the beam and not the other, withoutdanger of the car tipping over to one side.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and the accompany ing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flat car having a central beam and end bulkheads, partly loaded and with a FIG. 8 isa still further enlarged partial transverse section of the car at the floor level.

FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional detail of the top end of the central longitudinal beam.

FIG. 10 is a transverse section through the central longitudinal beam taken at the line iii-10 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a partial transverse section similar to FIG. 8 but taken at a position adjacent the car bolster.

Referring to the drawings a standard flat car is shown in outline in FIGS. 4 and 5 In this type of flat car the centre sill 5 and the side sills 6 have excessive depth in the section between the wheels 7, in order to support the load to be carried. The overall length of the car is limited to keep a reasonable balance between deadweight and the load to be carried. In this type of fiat car any load supporting structure has to be built on the flat car and. is usually of a temporary nature.

In FIGS. 2 and 3 there is shown in outline a car built according to the present invention and is drawn to approximately the same scale as the flat car shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In the car shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the depth of the centre sill 8 and the side sills 9 are relatively shallow in comparison to the sills of the car shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and they are of uniform depth throughout the full length of the car, as will be seen in FIG. 2.

In order to compensate for the lighter weight sills 8 and and to provide the required strength for the longer length of car, a central longitudinal beam 10 extends upwards from the top of the centre sill 8 and is secured at its ends to car end bulkheads 11.

Suitable transverse bracket structures 12 join the centre sill '8 to the side sills 9 at suit-ably spaced intervals lengthwise of the car and together with the floor plates 13 form a part of the car beam structures.

The central longitudinal beam 10 has its side surfaces tapered inwardly towards its top horizontal edge which is reinforced by the channel member 14. Angled sleeper members are supported on the floor plates 13 the top angled surface of which forms a 90 angle with the sides of the central longitudinal beam 10. The height of the beam 10 and the end bulkheads 11 above the floor plates 13 is the normal height of a standard box car.

The detail of the car structure is illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 11 to which reference is now made.

The centre sill 3 is of inverted channel cross section having outwardly projecting flanges 15 at its lower edges. The outer sills 9 are of I section of relatively narrow depth and are of uniform depth throughout the full length of the car and are anchored to the centre sill 8 by brackets 12 and by the fioor plates 13 which are supported on the angle support 16 secured to the side of the centre sill 8.

The central longitudinal beam 10 extends upwards from the centre sill 8 to a height equal to the normal height of a box car and is secured at its lower end to the centre sill 8 and to the angle supports 16 by the angle plates 17. The beam 10 is formed of side plates 18 supported on the vertical posts 19 which are of channel section and are tapered inwardly from a width at their lower end 20 equal to the Width of the centre sill 8 to a reduced width at their top end 21. The tapered form of the posts 19 have the effect of supporting the side plates 18 of the beam at an inwardly inclined angle with respect to the vertical centre line of the car and provide an angled support on either side of the beam for the load to be carried by the car. The top horizontal edges of the side plates 18 are secured to angle plates 22 which, in turn, are secured to the longitudinal channel 14 which also extends the full length of the car.

The car is provided with end bulkheads 11 which are lighter than normal construction and extend. across the full width of the car and upwards to the level of the top of the central longitudinal beam 10. The vertical ends 23 of the beam 10 are secured to the end bulkheads 11 while the ends 24 of the longitudinal channel 14 extend over the top of the end bulkheads 11 and are secured thereto.

The combined central longitudinal beam 10, end bulkheads 11 and the floor of the car form individual freight carrying housings 25 open to the sides and top of the car and extending the full length of the car.

A series of transverse load supporting sleepers 26 are secured to the floor plates 13 of the car at spaced apart intervals. These sleepers 26 are wedge shaped with their greater vertical dimension above the outer sills 9 and their smaller vertical dimension adjacent the longitudinal beam 10. The angle of the sleepers 26 is such that their top surface 27 is at 90 from the vertical faces of the longitudinal beam 10.

The sleepers 26 can be formed from sheet metal as shown in FIG. 8 or can be of wood as shown at 26a in FIG. 11. A preferable arrangement is to have metal sleepers located over the car bolsters and wood sleepers elsewhere.

In FIG. 11 the brackets 12a joining the centre sill 3 to the side sills 9 are shown modified from the brackets 12 in FIG. 8 in order to clear the car truck.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a car of the type above described, partially loaded with loads 28 supported on the sleepers 26 and piled one above the other to just below the level of the top of the central longitudinal beam 1!) and on either side thereof. The individual loads 28 above the first tier are supported on pallets 28'. Due to the angle of the sleepers 26 the loads 28 rest against the sloping sides of the central beam 19. The angle of the sleepers 26 and the sides of the central beam 10 relative to the horizontal is such that the loads 28 resting against the sides of the central beam 1% will resist dislodgement sideways of the car under normal operating conditions. However, straps 29 are provided to hold the loads 28 securely in place. These straps 29 are secured at one end to the central longitudinal beam at St) and can be secured at their opposite end to any suitable securing means (not shown) at the car floor level adjacent the side sills 9.

A cover 31 may be fitted if desired and is secured along its longitudinal centre line to the upper facing surface of the channel 14 and is adapted to be rolled down on either side of its longitudinal centre line to cover the tops and sides of the loads 28, and be secured in any suitable manner at the side sills of the car.

A railroad car constructed as above described is in transverse section in the form of an inverted T-shaped beam formed by the central longitudinal beam 19 and the transverse brackets 12, and in a plan view takes the shape of an H beam formed of the eiongated central longitudinal beam 10 and the end bulkheads 11.

The central longitudinal beam 10 anchored to the car floor structure and to end bulkheads provides greatly added strength to the car with little or no added dead weight, with the result that the car can be lengthened by as much as fifteen feet and can carry approximately 65,000 pounds of payload over that carried by a standard fiat car or box car. The extra length of the car is of particular benefit where long lengths of lumber or other like freight is to be carried.

The car can be loaded and unloaded from both sides in a minimum time by the use of fork trucks. Each load, as it is placed on the car, is automatically placed against the sides of the central longitudinal beam and therefore takes up a balanced position relative to the centre line of the car.

The car is designed in such a manner as to permit the complete loading or unloading of one complete side of the car without disturbing its lateral stability to the extent that it will tend to roll over on its side. This is so because the weight moment of the car structure (which is the total weight of the car structure acting through the distance from the centre of the car to the body side bearing) is much greater than the lading moment (which is the total weight of the lading acting through the distance from its centre of gravity to the body side hearing).

In order to illustrate the beneficial features of the car above described, a comparison is made with comparable standard length flat car equipped with end bulkheads, side stakes and chain tie downs, such as is used by the railways for transporting bundled lumber.

From the above comparison it will be noted that the car of the present application has significant advantages with its simple straight line design as particularly seen in the uniform depth of the sill throughout the length of the car. Maintenance costs are also greatly reduced as all running equipment under the car is readily accessible at all times. In addition, the greatly increased load carrying capacity with little or no increase in dead weight effects a substantial reduction in running cost which can be translated into a reduction in freight rates to the shipper.

While the present invention has been described as being applied to railroad cars it will be readily'appreciated that the invention can also be applied to highway transport vehicles.

What I claim is:

1. A freight carrying railroad car of the flat car type, of extended length with little or no increase in body weight, and adapted to handle low density commodities, said car having a body structure supported on wheels, said body structure comprising a longitudinally extending composite beam having a transverse section in the form of an inverted T composed of a continuous central longitudinal main load carrying composite stem extending continuously the full length of said car, and cross members forming the floor of the car and terminating in a pair of relatively light side sill members, said main load carrying composite stem being constructed to support substantially the entire load carried by the car and having a vertical dimension at least as great as the transverse width of the car, a pair of end bulkheads extending upwardly from said cross members and secured to adjacent vertical end portions of said main load carrying composite stem, said composite stem incorporating a main compression member extending throughout the full length thereof in the vicinity of the upper longitudinal edge.

2. A freight carrying vehicle as set forth in claim 1 in which the cross member on either side of said composite stem of the T beam are disposed at an angle above the horizontal and the adjacent sides of 'said composite stem are disposed at right angles to the angled portions of the cross members.

3. A freight carrying vehicle as set forth in claim 1 in which the cross members on either side of the stem support a horizontal floor and a series of tapered sleepers secured to the upper face of the floor have their upward facing edges disposed at right angles to the adjacent faces of the stem.

4. A freight carrying vehicle as set forth in claim 1 in which the said cross members include a series of brackets extending outwards from the base of the stem at spaced apart intervals the outer facing ends of the said brackets being secured to the said side sill members.

5. A freight carrying vehicle as set forth in claim 1 in which the stem of the said inverted T beam is of A section and is formed of side plates and a series of internal vertically disposed posts located at spaced apart intervals throughout the length of the said stem.

6. A freight carrying vehicle as set forth in claim 1 in which the juncture of the said stem and cross members is formed by an inverted longitudinally extending channel member and the said side sill members are I beams of uniform and less depth than the said channel means.

7. A freight carrying vehicle as set forth in claim 1 in which the said main compression member is an inverted channel and a load covering is secured in the said channel, the said load covering adapted to be unfolded to cover the load on the vehicle and be secured to the lower side portions of the vehicle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,061,673 11/1936 Robinson 29628.2 2,638,063 5/1953 Clark -369 2,650,856 9/1953 Mashburn et a1. 29628.2 2,724,611 11/1955 Robertson 29628.2 2,803,201 8/1957 Johnson et al. 105--369 2,839,328 6/1958 Prickett et a1. 29628.2 2,940,402 6/ 1960 Hansen et a1 105--367 3,028,191 4/1962 Magor 29628.2

OTHER REFERENCES Car Builder Cyclopedia, 21st edition, 1961, pages 168 to 171.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Exa r niner.

LEO QUACKENBUSH, Examiner. 

1. A FREIGHT CARRYING RAILROAD CAR OF THE FLAT CAR TYPE, OF EXTENDED LENGTH WITH LITTLE OR NO INCREASE IN BODY WEIGHT, AND ADAPTED TO HANDLE LOW DENSITY COMMODITIES, SAID CAR HAVING A BODY STRUCTURE SUPPORTED ON WHEELS, SAID BODY STRUCTURE COMPRISING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING COMPOSITE BEAM HAVING A TRANSVERSE SECTION IN THE FORM OF AN INVERTED TO COMPOSED OF A CONTINUOUS CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL MAIN LOAD CARRYING COMPOSITE STEM EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLY THE FULL LENGTH OF SAID CAR, AND CROSS MEMBERS FORMING THE FLOOR OF THE CAR AND TERMINATING IN A PAIR OF RELATIVELY LIGHT SIDE SILL MEMBERS, SAID MAIN LOAD CARRYING COMPOSITE STEM BEING CONSTRUCTED TO SUPPORT SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LOAD CARRIED BY THE CAR AND HAVING A VERTICAL DIMENSION AT LEAST AS GREAT AS THE TRANSVERSE WIDTH OF THE CAR, A PAIR OF END BULKHEADS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID CROSS MEMBERS AND SECURED TO ADJACENT VERTICAL END PORTIONS OF SAID MAIN LOAD CARRYING COMPOSITE STEM, SAID COMPOSITE STEM INCORPORATING A MAIN COMPRESSION MEMBER EXTENDING THROUGHOUT THE FULL LENGTH THEREOF IN THE VICINITY OF THE UPPER LONGITUDINAL EDGE. 